Anyone tapped a hole for Getrag fill?
 

Has anyone drilled and tapped a hole in the top plate for filling a Getrag? I dont see any reason not to, just offset it as to not get into shift rods.

I wouldnt, just pop out the shifter and fill 'er up. Its easy enough PLUS you'll have to make more room elsewhere to access the tapped hole. Just my .02

Why can't you just drill and tap a hole in the side on top of the hole that's already there?

Im doing a removable tunnel, so that will make access fairly easy. Isnt the shifter pretty tough to remove?

The shifter comes out with the removal of a snap ring. It is a trick to put the shifter back in by yourself but I have done it a few times.... Two people is better.... actually a snap. Tee Hee (pun intended)

On a 2wd truck, it is simple to put a short nipple in the fill-plug hole, add an up-pointing ELL, a longer nipple in the ELL, and a cap.

I made a dipstick in my cap.

When you make your removable hump, add a trap-door to access your dip-stick/filler-tube.

This can be accomplished on a 4x4 truck; it just takes a little more engineering to clear the transfer-case linkages.

Thats actually what Id planned to do now, I already bought the stuff to do it. Thanks.

Do you guys really need to add oil to the trans that offen? It just seems like less work to pop the shifter out one time and fill it, rather than drilling, tapping, and making a new hole.

Like a wise gentleman, driving a silver truck at the Kentucky meet, once told me, if it is easy to check/change the fluid, one will be apt to do it more regularly.

The couple of times I had a shifter out of a Getrag, it was a two man fight to get it back in, not something I look forward to; besides, the floor-boots must both be removed to even start.

Also, when properly over-filled, there is no way to check the level of fluid, when the extra is simply poured in at the top, either through a PTO hole, or the shift-tower.

Before any trip of distance, or before any trailer-towing, I check the fluid level in my Getrag with my dipstick; it takes longer to find the creeper, than to check the fluid.

I have never found it low, or had to add any, but I check it, just the same.:cool:

I will be changing my oil within 200 miles of the first fill. Im running some cheapo oil for the period of clutch breakin-not for the clutch (Im not stupid) but to be clean any shavings or trash missed out, and then Ill fill with my synthetic. And from looking at the shifter, its quite a mess to get in and out.

That is exactly what I did, when I had mine rebuilt.

I dumped in 5 qts of plain old Advance 5w-30, ran it for about 500 miles, then switched to Mobil One 5W-30 Full Synthetic.

Not knowing the history of the son's Getrag, the first thing I did was drain the fluid and add five qts of the cheap Advance.

After a few miles, it also will get synthetic.

I used the street elbow method to fill mine and made a little wire dipstick that hangs in a hole in the frame. I check the trans oil every time I change the engine oil. I haven't added any in 10k.

Dave what is the street elbow methiod. I would like to be able to check the trans but since it's a quart over well I need a methiod to do it.

thanks

I put a sight glass near the top of the PTO cover. I know it has at least six quarts in it as long as there's no air showing. That level would be four quarts without the Fast Coolers. It's really a fairly simple mod and makes checking the Getrag fluid level absurdly easy. Well, I did bump my head on the step one time. [duhhh]

http://72.19.150.167/PhotoAlbum/Cars/Pics/CTD_33.jpg

I ain't DAVE; but, I will stick my nose in, anyway.

Just in case someone is not versed in plumbing lingo, there are two common types of standard steel plumbing elbows.

A common "ELL" is a ninety degree bend fitting, with "female" threads in both ends.

A "STREET ELL" is a ninety degree bend fitting, with one end having "female" threads, and the other end having "male" threads.

Of course, "street ells" are available in bends other than ninety degrees; but, the ninety degree ones are what concern our purpose.


To install a "street-ell" in the Getrag requires a 1/2" NPT MALE thread on the end that screws into the transmission.

On my truck, I found an "adapting street-ell" that was 1/2" on the male end, and 3/4" on the female end.

This larger female end gives more room for filling/checking, but isn't absolutely necessary.

One can get by with the common 1/2 x 1/2 version.

To install, first, remove the "filler-plug" from the right side of the transmission.

With Teflon tape properly wrapped on the threads, screw the street-ell into the fill-plug hole.

Once the ell is in there pretty snug, you want to orient the female end of the ell pointing straight UP.

Now, dump in your five quarts of preferred fluid.

Note the level of the fluid in the ell on whatever dipstick method you choose.

To get fancy, you can stop at four quarts, then mark "add-a-quart", then add one-half quart and mark "add-1/2-quart", then add the last half-quart and mark "FULL".

Finally, cap the female end of the ell with the fill-plug.

I went a little farther and added a three-inch nipple to the female end of the ell.

I took a common pipe-cap and drilled a 1/4" hole dead-center through the cap.

I ran a nut to the end of the threads on an appropriately long 1/4" bolt, stuck the bolt through the cap, from the inside, and ran a second nut down against the outside of the cap, snugging it up tight.

I welded the bolt/nut to the outside of the cap, melting away the excess threads.

I cut the head-end of the bolt off at the proper length to just barely miss bottoming-out in the ell, when the cap is screwed on the nipple.

This cap, with welded in bolt, became my "dipstick".

An advantage of adding a nipple and cap, as opposed to simply using the male fill-plug as a lid, is that, since the ell is pointing straight up, the CAP does not catch dirt/water/salt, like the exposed plug will.